Eugenie Besserer was an actress born in Watertown, New York

Watertown (city), New York

Watertown is a city in the state of New York and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is situated approximately south of the Thousand Islands. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 27,023, an increase of 1.2% since 2000. The U.S...

 of French Canadian

French Canadian

French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...

 parents, who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion picture era, beginning in 1910.

Orphan in Canada

She was taken by her parents to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada as a girl and spent her childhood in Canada. She was left an orphan and escaped from her guardians at the age of twelve. She came to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and arrived at Grand Central Station with but twenty-five cents of Canadian money in her pocket. Miss Besserer located a former governess through the assistance of a street car conductor. The governess helped Eugenie locate an uncle and she found a home at his residence. She continued her education, becoming proficient in both cooking and athletics. She claimed to have held her own with the noted fencer Alexander Salvini.

Theater and motion picture player

Besserer's initial theatrical experience came with McKee Rankin when the producer had for a star, Nance O'Neill. Soon she appeared with stage luminaries like Frank Keenan

Frank Keenan

Frank Keenan was a stage and screen actor and stage director and manager during the silent film era. He was among the first stage actors to star in Hollywood, and he pursued work in film features a number of years....

 and Wilton Lackaye. As a youth she played a juvenile part with Maurice Barrymore

Maurice Barrymore

Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe —stage name Maurice Barrymore — was the patriarch of the Barrymore acting family and great-grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore.-Early life:...

. She performed a season at Pike's Opera House in Portland Oregon. Another season Eugenie acted in a drama opposite Henry Kolker

Henry Kolker

Henry Kolker was an American stage and film actor and director...

.

The actress came to Hollywood in 1910 when films were just starting to be made there. The illness of her sister brought her to the west coast. In motion pictures Eugenie was usually cast in mother roles. Eugenie became associated with the Selig Polyscope Company. A significant part for the actress was her role as Aunt Ray Innis in The Circular Staircase (1915). The film was adapted from the novel of Mary Roberts Rinehart

Mary Roberts Rinehart

Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. She is considered the source of the phrase "The butler did it", although she did not actually use the phrase. She is considered to have invented the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing...

.

Domestic life

She shared a home with her husband, Albert W. Hegger, an art dealer, from the time she came to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. They lived a serene life high above Silver Lake in a hilltop home.

Besserer died in 1934, age 65, of a heart attack, at her home, 2215 Baxter Street. She had married Hegger at the age of fifteen. The couple would have celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1935. A mass for the actress was held at St. Theresa's Church with a rosary service at Edwards Brothers Colonial Mortuary, Venice Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. Her grave is located in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles

Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles

The Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese, located at 4201 Whittier Boulevard in Los Angeles, California...

.

1930s

• To the Last Man
  To the Last Man (1933 film)
  To the Last Man is a 1933 western film directed by Henry Hathaway. The screenplay by Jack Cunningham was based on a story by Zane Grey. The film is about a feud between the Colby and the Hayden families, initiated in the hills of Kentucky and continued in the West after the Civil War...
  
   (1933) .... Granny Spelvin
• Six Hours to Live (1932) (uncredited) .... Undetermined Role
• Scarface
  Scarface (1932 film)
  Scarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail...
  
   (1932) (uncredited) .... Citizens Committee member
• Du Barry, Woman of Passion
  Du Barry, Woman of Passion
  Du Barry, Woman of Passion is a 1930 talking film drama starring Norma Talmadge, produced by her husband Joseph Schenck, released through United Artists, and based on a 1901 stage play Du Barry written and produced by David Belasco and starring Mrs. Leslie Carter.This film is the second talking...
  
   (1930) (uncredited) .... Rosalie/Prison Matron
• In Gay Madrid
  In Gay Madrid
  In Gay Madrid is an American musical comedy, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Ramón Novarro and Dorothy Jordan, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Production:...
  
   (1930) (as Eugenia Besserer) .... Doña Generosa
• A Royal Romance (1930) .... Mother

1920s

• Seven Faces (1929) .... Madame Vallon
• Mister Antonio (1929) .... Mrs. Jorny
• Illusion (1929) .... Mrs. Jacob Schmittlap
• Fast Company
  Fast Company (1929 film)
  Fast Company is a 1929 American comedy film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Evelyn Brent.-Preservation status:According to the Internet Movie Database entry, the UCLA Film and Television Archive has reels 1, 2, and 3 of this film, with reel 4 having disintegrated in 1990.- Cast :*...
  
   (1929) .... Mrs. Kane
• Speedway (1929) .... Mrs. MacDonald
• Whispering Winds (1929) .... Jim's Mother
• Madame X
  Madame X (1929 film)
  Madame X is a 1929 drama film directed by Lionel Barrymore, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. Ruth Chatterton was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as a fallen woman.-Plot:...
  
   (1929) .... Rose, Floriot's Servant
• Thunderbolt
  Thunderbolt (1929 film)
  Thunderbolt is a 1929 proto-noir which tells the story of a criminal, facing execution, who wants to kill the man in the next cell for being in love with his girlfriend. It stars George Bancroft, Fay Wray, Richard Arlen, Tully Marshall and Eugenie Besserer....
  
   (1929) .... Mrs. Morgan
• The Bridge of San Luis Rey
  The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1929 film)
  The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in both silent and part-talkie versions. The was film directed by Charles Brabin and starred Lili Damita and Don Alvarado...
  
   (1929) .... A nun
• A Lady of Chance
  A Lady of Chance
  A Lady of Chance is a 1928 silent film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film is based upon the story Little Angel by Leroy Scott and is known for being Norma Shearer's last silent film. Although the film was released with added dialogue scenes, Shearer can't be heard. -Plot:Dolly ‘Angel Face’...
  
   (1928) .... Mrs. 'Ma' Crandall
• Lilac Time
  Lilac Time (1928 film)
  Lilac Time is a silent romantic war film directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper, produced by John McCormick , and distributed by First National Pictures....
  
   (1928) .... Madame Berthelot
• Yellow Lily (1928) .... Archduchess
• Two Lovers
  Two Lovers (1928 film)
  Two Lovers is a silent feature film directed by Fred Niblo.-Production background:The film was rereleased in the USA in 1928, with a synchronized soundtrack, after having been previously released as a silent film.-Preservation status:...
  
   (1928) .... Madame Van Rycke
• Drums of Love
  Drums of Love
  Drums of Love is a silent romance film directed by D. W. Griffith.-Plot:After finding out her father and his estate is in danger, Princess Emanuella saves his life by marrying Duke Cathos de Alvia, a grotesque hunchback. She actually is in love with Leonardo, his attractive younger brother...
  
   (1928) .... Duchess de Alvia
• The Jazz Singer
  The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
  The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
  
   (1927) .... Sara Rabinowitz
• Slightly Used (1927) .... Aunt Lydia
• Captain Salvation
  Captain Salvation (1927 film)
  Captain Salvation is a 1927 drama directed by John S. Robertson and released by MGM. It stars Lars Hanson, Pauline Starke and Marceline Day. On January 18, 2010 the film had its first home video release on the Warner Archives series.-Cast:...
  
   (1927) .... Mrs. Buxom
• When a Man Loves
  When a Man Loves
  Manon Lescaut is a 1926 silent German feature film based on the oft-filmed novel by Abbe Prevost. It stars Lya De Putti and was directed by Arthur Robison. It was produced and distributed by renown German film company Universum Film AG better known as UFA. A young actress named Marlene Dietrich had...
  
   (1927) .... The Landlady
• The Night of Love
  The Night of Love (1927 film)
  The Night of Love is a drama, released by United Artists in 1927, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Montagu Love. The film is based on the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca.-Cast:* Ronald Colman ... Montero* Vilma Bánky ... Princess Marie...
  
   (1927) (uncredited) .... Gypsy
• Wandering Girls (1927) .... Peggy's Mother
• Flesh and the Devil
  Flesh and the Devil
  Flesh and the Devil is an MGM romantic drama silent film. It stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the play The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann....
  
   (1926) .... Leo's Mother
• The Fire Brigade
  The Fire Brigade
  __notoc__The Fire Brigade, also called Fire! is a silent film directed by William Nigh.Film historian Kevin Brownlow used scenes from this film's climax to open his 13-hour documentary Hollywood...
  
   (1926) .... Mrs.O'Neil
• The Millionaire Policeman (1926) .... Mrs. Gray
• Winning the Futurity (1926) .... Mary Allen
• Kiki
  Kiki (1926 film)
  Kiki is a 1926 silent comedy film directed by Clarence Brown. The film is based upon a 1920 novel of the same name by André Picard, which was later adapted by David Belasco and performed on Broadway to great success in 1921 by his muse Lenore Ulric....
  
   (1926) (uncredited) .... Landlady
• The Skyrocket (1926) .... Wardrobe Mistress
• Bright Lights
  Bright Lights (1925 film)
  Bright Lights is a 1925 comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film stars Charles Ray, who achieved stardom by playing ingenious country boys. It is presumed lost...
  
   (1925) .... Patsy's mom
• Wandering Footsteps (1925) .... Elizabeth Stuyvesant Whitney
• The Circle
  The Circle (1925 film)
  The Circle is a 1925 film directed by Frank Borzage. The film stars Eleanor Boardman, Malcolm McGregor, Alec B. Francis and Joan Crawford on an early role. It is written by Kenneth B. Clarke based on the play by W. Somerset Maugham. The 1921 Broadway play had starred John Drew, Jr. and Mrs. Leslie...
  
   (1925) .... Lady Catherine "Kitty" Cheney
• The Coast of Folly
  The Coast of Folly (1925 film)
  The Coast of Folly is a 1925 silent drama directed by Allan Dwan and starred Gloria Swanson. Richard Arlen had a small part in the film but his scenes were cut before release. Still photos of Arlen in the film exist. The film is considered lost.-Cast:...
  
   (1925) .... Nanny
• Confessions of a Queen
  Confessions of a Queen
  Confessions of a Queen is a 1925 drama film directed by Victor Sjöström based upon a novel by Alphonse Daudet, Les Rois en Exil. Only an incomplete print of the film survives.-Plot:...
  
   (1925) .... Elanora
• Friendly Enemies (1925)
• A Fool and His Money (1925) .... Mother
• The Price She Paid (1924) .... Mrs. Elton Gower
• Bread (1924) .... Mrs. Sturgis
• Enemies of Children (1923)
• Anna Christie
  Anna Christie (1923 film)
  Anna Christie is a 1923 silent era drama motion picture based on the play by Eugene O'Neill and starring Blanche Sweet and William Russell. It was considered by Eugene O'Neill himself to be the best version of his play....
  
   (1923) .... Marthy
• The Rendezvous (1923) .... Nini
• Her Reputation (1923) .... Madame Cervanez
• The Lonely Road (1923) .... Martha True
• The Strangers' Banquet (1922) .... Mrs. McPherson
• June Madness (1922) .... Mrs. Whitmore
• The Hands of Nara (1922) .... Mrs. Claveloux
• Kindred of the Dust
  Kindred of the Dust
  Kindred of the Dust is an American silent film directed by Raoul Walsh, and starring his wife Miriam Cooper. The film was the last independent picture for Walsh's production company, and the last film he and Cooper would make together. Today it is one of Walsh's earliest surviving features, and...
  
   (1922) .... Mrs. McKaye
• Penrod (1922)
• The Rosary (1922) .... Widow Kathleen Wilson
• The Light in the Clearing (1921)
• Molly O'
  Molly O (1921 film)
  Molly O' is a silent film starring Mabel Normand and directed by F. Richard Jones.-Cast:*Mabel Normand ... Molly O'*George Nichols ... Tim O'Dair*Anna Dodge ... Mrs. Tim O'Dair *Albert Hackett ... Billy O'Dair...
  
   (1921) .... Antonia Bacigalupi
• The Sin of Martha Queed (1921) .... Alicia Queed
• Good Women (1921) .... Mrs. Emmeline Shelby
• The Breaking Point (1921) .... Mrs. Janeway
• What Happened to Rosa (1920) .... Madame O'Donnelly
• The Scoffer (1920) .... Boorman's Wife
• 45 Minutes from Broadway (1920) .... Mrs. David Dean
• Seeds of Vengeance (1920) .... Judith Cree
• Fickle Women (1920) .... Mrs. Price
• The Brand of Lopez (1920) .... Señora Castillo
• For the Soul of Rafael (1920) .... Dona Luisa
• The Gift Supreme (1920) .... Martha Vinton
• The Fighting Shepherdess (1920) .... Jezebel

1910s

• The Greatest Question
  The Greatest Question
  The Greatest Question is a drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. While considered a "programmer" of average quality at the time, the film has since been seen as one of Griffith's most charming minor works.-Cast:* Lillian Gish - Nellie Jarvis...
  
   (1919) .... Mrs. Hilton
• Scarlet Days (1919) .... Rosie Nell
• Turning the Tables (1919) .... Mrs. Feverill
• Ravished Armenia
  Ravished Armenia
  Ravished Armenia is the title of both a book written in 1918 by Arshaluys Mardiganian about her experiences in the Armenian Genocide and the Hollywood film based on it that was filmed in 1919....
  
   (1919)
• The Sea Flower (1918) .... Kealani
• The Road Through the Dark (1918) .... Aunt Julie
• The Eyes of Julia Deep
  The Eyes of Julia Deep
  The Eyes of Julia Deep is a 1918 silent film starring Mary Miles Minter, directed by Lloyd Ingraham. The film is based on the short story by the same name, written by Kate L. McLaurin. It is one of the few films starring Minter which are known to have survived.-Plot:Julia Deep is a young woman...
  
   (1918) .... Mrs. Lowe
• A Hoosier Romance (1918) .... The Squire's Wife
• The Still Alarm
  The Still Alarm
  The Still Alarm is a melodramatic play by Joseph Arthur that debuted in New York in 1887 and enjoyed great success, and was adapted to silent films in 1911, 1918, and 1926. Though never a favorite of critics, it achieved widespread popularity...
  
   (1918) .... Undetermined Role
• The City of Purple Dreams (1918)
• Little Orphan Annie
  Little Orphan Annie
  Little Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York Daily News...
  
   (1918) .... Mrs. Goode
• Who Shall Take My Life? (1917) .... Mrs. Munroe
• The Curse of Eve (1917) .... The Mother
• The Witness for the State (1917)
• Her Salvation (1917)
• Little Lost Sister (1917) .... Mrs. Welcome
• The Crisis (1917) .... Mrs. Brice
• Beware of Strangers (1917) .... Mary DeLacy
• In After Years (1917)
• The Garden of Allah (1916) .... Lady Rens
• Twisted Trails (1916) .... Martha, Housekeeper
• The Temptation of Adam (1916)
• The Woman Who Did Not Care (1916)
• A Social Deception (1916)
• The Grinning Skull (1916)
• Thou Shalt Not Covet (1916) .... My Wife
• The Devil-in-Chief (1916)
• I'm Glad My Boy Grew Up to Be a Soldier (1915) .... Mrs. Warrington
• Just as I Am (1915)
• The Bridge of Time (1915)
• The Circular Staircase (1915) .... Aunt Ray
• The Rosary (1915) .... Widow Kelly
• Ingratitude of Liz Taylor (1915)
• The Carpet from Bagdad (1915) .... Mrs. Chedsoye
• Poetic Justice of Omar Khan (1915)
• The Vision of the Shepherd (1915)
• The Story of the Blood Red Rose (1914) .... Queen of Urania
• The Tragedy That Lived (1914)
• Hearts and Masks (1914)
• Ye Vengeful Vagabonds (1914)
• The Man in Black (1914)
• His Fight (1914)
• Me an' Bill (1914)
• The Fire Jugglers (1914)
• The Salvation of Nance O'Shaughnessy (1914)
• Elizabeth's Prayer (1914) .... Hilda Crosby, An Unscrupulous Actress
• Memories (1914) .... Mary, Professor Scott's Sweetheart
• The Master of the Garden (1913)
• Phantoms (1913) .... Natalie Storm
• The Probationer (1913) .... Granny
• Fate Fashions a Letter (1913)
• The Acid Test (1913)
• The Unseen Defense (1913)
• In God We Trust (1913)
• The Fighting Lieutenant (1913)
• Woman: Past and Present (1913) .... Grandmother America
• A Flag of Two Wars (1913)
• The Girl and the Judge (1913)
• Wamba, a Child of the Jungle (1913)
• Indian Summer (1913)
• Lieutenant Jones (1913)
• In the Days of Witchcraft (1913)
• Dollar Down, Dollar a Week (1913)
• Love Before Ten (1913) .... Mrs. Walters
• Diverging Paths (1913)
• The Spanish Parrot Girl (1913) .... Mrs. Avery
• The Governor's Daughter (1913)
• The Ne'er to Return Road (1913)
• The Last of Her Tribe (1912)
• Sammy Orpheus; or, The Pied Piper of the Jungle (1912)
• The Millionaire Vagabonds (1912) .... Mrs. Knobhill
• Opitsah: Apache for Sweetheart (1912)
• The Vintage of Fate (1912)
• Old Songs and Memories (1912)
• His Wedding Eve (1912)
• Monte Cristo
  Monte Cristo
  -Places:* Montecristo, an Italian island in the Tuscan Archipelago* Montecristo, Bolívar, Colombia* Monte Cristo Peak, a mountain peak in Washington State, United States* Monte Cristo, Washington, a ghost town in Washington State...
  
   (1912) .... Mercedes
• The Substitute Model (1912)
• The Indelible Stain (1912)
• Sergeant Byrne of the Northwest Mounted Police (1912)
• The Little Indian Martyr (1912)
• His Masterpiece (1912)
• The Lake of Dreams (1912)
• In Exile (1912)
• A Child of the Wilderness (1912)
• The Hand of Fate (1912)
• The End of the Romance (1912) .... Alice Gray
• Me an' Bill (1912)
• The Junior Officer (1912)
• As Told by Princess Bess (1912)
• The Danites (1912)
• Disillusioned (1912)
• Bunkie (1912)
• The Cowboy's Adopted Child (1912)
• George Warrington's Escape (1911) .... Madame Esmond Warrington
• An Evil Power (1911)
• The Bootlegger (1911)
• Old Billy (1911)
• The Blacksmith's Love (1911)
• The Regeneration of Apache Kid (1911)
• Their Only Son (1911)
• Slick's Romance (1911)
• The Profligate (1911)
• It Happened in the West (1911) .... Prologue
• The Craven Heart (1911)
• A Sacrifice to Civilization (1911)
• One of Nature's Noblemen (1911)
• Stability vs. Nobility (1911)
• The Still Alarm (1911)
• The Mother (1911)
• The Other Fellow (1911)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)
  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1910 silent fantasy film and the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's direct input. It was created to fulfill a contractual obligation associated with Baum's personal bankruptcy caused by...
  
   (1910) - Aunt Em
  Aunt Em
  Aunt Em is a fictional character from the Oz books. She is the aunt of Dorothy Gale and wife of Uncle Henry, and lived together with them on a farm in Kansas...